CAPTAIN BEEFHEART The Spotlight Kid RARE ORIG UK 1972 EX+ LP, GREAT SOUND+INSERT

	£		22
	$		29

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: CAPTAIN BEEFHEART

Album Title: The Spotlight Kid

Producer(s): Don van Vliet

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: I’m Gonna Booglarize You Baby; White Jam; Blabber ‘n Smoke; When It Blows It Stacks; Alice in Blunderland.

Side 2: The Spotlight Kid; Click Clack; Grow Fins; There Ain’t No Santa Claus on the Evenin’ Stage; Glider.

Label/Format: Reprise – original dark tan with matt, smooth surfaces. This genuine first issue has no Warner logo.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with any of the very few spindle marks small, fine and faint. This record plays beautifully.

Cat Number: K 44162

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 127 grams

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: Scarcer as a genuine first pressing, later tan label copies include a small Warner logo at the 3 o’clock position of the rim text. First issues also include a card graphic lyric insert sheet as seen.

Original Year of Release: 1972

Matrix Nos: K 44162 A1 / K44162 B1 [machine punched and clear]

Musicians: Don van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) - vocals, harmonica; Zoot Horn Rollo (Bill Harkleroad) - guitar, slide guitar; Rockette Morton (Mark Boston) - bass guitar; Drumbo (John French) - drums, percussion; Ed Marimba (Art Tripp) - drums, percussion, marimba. With: Winged Eel Fingerling (Elliot Ingber) – guitar on ‘Alice in Blunderland’; Rhys Clark – drums on ‘Glider’.

Brief Artist & Album Info: This famous cover sees the Captain attired in a western styled Nudie suit and looking real dapper. This all looks very ‘normal’ for a Captain Beefheart album until you notice the strange eerie yellow glow that surrounds him. It was the first album by Beefheart to only be credited to him, there is no mention of ‘The Magic Band’ anywhere on this set. This I feel is the most underrated album in the Captain’s catalogue, yes it is more subdued than previous with some slower songs, some critics rated him as the greatest white blues singer of the time after hearing this record. Musically more conventional than the free-form avant garde mayhem that dominated on the Trout Mask Replica and Lick My Decals Off, Baby albums, this is less challenging than the aforementioned pair that were far too ‘out there’ for many (if not most). An eagerly awaited album, but it surprised many as it was deemed by some as a step backwards to the earlier blues-based sound of the pre-Trout Mask Replica period. To date, the band were struggling to get by financially, was it time to try and sell more records and become a little more commercial? Well possibly, but this album is hardly commercial for what most would consider from the word. Here was a blend of steamy swamp-blues that still defied the ‘conventional’. The record has a very warm sound with an emphasis on bass. It includes more impressive work from this great band line-up with some catchy hooks and complex arrangements that only they could ever play. But some members found this music too easy and prefered the more challenging material. Van Vliet still sounds like Howlin’ Wolf and rarely has his voice been better than on this fine recording. The heavy, deep blues of ‘Blabber ‘n Smoke and the brilliant ‘When it Blows it Stacks’ are memorable. Some songs are noticeably downbeat with lyrics to match, especially the demanding ‘There Ain’t No Santa Claus on the Evening Stage’ where even the jingle bells have a funeral deathly sound. One of the real highlights is the classic ‘Click Clack’ which is one of Beefheart’s greatest ever songs. Beefheart and the band take a train ride in song with lovely rhythm and sound and great use of the harmonica, you could even be there for the ride. Even better for me is the surrealistic ‘Grow Fins’ which delivers the lines ’I’m gonna grow fins and go back in the water again; I’m gonna take up with a mermaid and leave you landlubbin’ women alone’ – bizarre stuff from a unique and surreal musical mind. Just the one instrumental on this set, ‘Alice in Blunderland’. The Spotlight Kid is an important album, it was a stepping stone between the free-form experimental ‘fun’ albums and his earlier blues albums. This album demands to be heard again and full recognition of its brilliance is long overdue. This is a lovely original UK copy that includes the elusive insert, the record is superb and looks almost like new. The cover is always difficult to find nice, this one of the finest I have seen for ages, in fact this is the first example I have offered since 2010. Most collectors and fans of this unique talent should enjoy this impressive copy.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: a single unlaminated format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by Shorewood, includes the plain white inner sleeve and the card lyric insert.

Cover Front: One that does not wear well, but this has fared well overall. Generally clean, still fresh with minimal traces or rubbing or creasing. A few very fine surface marks seen with angled viewing, mostly hairlines, not press marks. One of the finest pictures of the Captain and this front does it impressive justice.

Cover Back: With four surreal pictures by van Vliet of four of Band members: Rockette Morton; Winged Eel Fingerling; Ed Marimba and Zoot Horn Rollo (missing is Drumbo, the great John French). Again mostly clean and attractive with any rubbing or grubbiness very little and light – a trace near the top edge centre. The lack of creasing and ringwear is a major plus.

Top Edge: Straight with hardly any wear, the merest hint of a gentle rub near the left corner.

Bottom Edge: Again straight with only very light rubbing, these most often have no ink on this storage edge.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp, with very little wear, any thickening or burring minimal, and this is guaranteed untrimmed. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: A superb spine that retains its solid, impressive boxy shape. Solid, straight with any compression tiny, barely any at all as seen. All text pristine and beautifully centred.

Corners: A tiny tip rub on the bottom right leading corner, but little else. Excellent shape retained with no bashes, any hint of dinking minimal.

Cover Summary: Great picture, classic cover and looking impressive. Shorewood covers as many collectors will know, do not wear as well as some others, but this one has withstood the test-of-time, storage and handling well. It should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: or close to. Moderate darkening, mostly near the edges and label area, but little else to fault overall. A basic plain solid white unlined inner with hardly any creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs.

The Lyric Insert: EXCELLENT(++): this is an orignal, printed on one side only on thick card with all the lyrics. Generally clean, uncreased (bar one corner tip) with very sharp edges. Little-aged, even the white back is impressive as seen, so often missing, this one will not be easy to find better.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): an impressive visual copy that’s very clean with fresh shine and solidly pressed on pure vinyl. Any surface marks very fine, wispy and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. There are no penetrating stylus marks and this copy plays superbly. Like the rest of this set, it should please many collectors again.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This quality album plays even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is high with a full dynamic range and detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. The production puts plenty of emphasis on bass, which gives a solid, slightly murky sound which I presume was quite intentional as van Vliet produced the album himself. Few copies will outperform this first A1/B1 example I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played only lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

End Piece: Hearing this again via vinyl was again a joy, I forgot just how deep sounding this album is. This recording really hits the depths and van Vliet’s growling blues tones are captured to perfection on this record. A slightly murky production as stated already, deliberately so to emphasise the subdued feel this record has. Quite dark, but this remains a highly enjoyable album, blues albums are what they are. Lyrically Beefheart again triumphs, obscure but compelling, this man’s genius cannot be over-emphasised. Mass appeal and commercialism was rarely an option until the early Virgin albums. His premature retirement to concentrate on painting was a sad loss for his fans, he was a true original and this album again proves this. My love of Zappa and van Vliet’s music has never diminished since my teenage years – just so sad two brilliant musical minds are no longer with us – but their music will live forever.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programs. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 14 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.